The Toddler and the White Blanket
by Meghan1998
Summary: When two year old Emma is adopted by a woman in a small town in Maine, she could not be happier. But when things start to change in this small town, the Mayor will come looking for the reason why.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, so this is my new story and I will be working on it along side my other story, Happy Ending, which I hope that you will read. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time, but I do own Ms. Jensen and any other characters that you do not recognise for the duration of this story. **

**Please review after reading, it will help me write faster!**

Chapter One

Adopted. Emma know exactly what that meant, even at the tender age of two she knew what adopted was and she so desperately wanted it printed across her folder. It was the one word that every child that was like Emma wanted and dreamed about. And now she gets that.

Emma had been told earlier that morning that she had been adopted by a young teacher from a little town in Maine. The woman had never met Emma, not once, but after taking one look at the picture of the little blonde clutching a thick, white knit blanket with her name sew into the corner in purple and her thumb stuck in her mouth, she knew that that little girl was hers.

"When awe we gonna be dere Ms. Jensen?" Emma lisped around her thumb.

"Emma, take your thumb out when you talk. We are going to be there soon. Why don't you color your new mommy a picture?" Ms. Jensen said, trying to distract the toddler.

"What if she doesn't like it?" Emma asked, her lisped voice filled with worry that no toddler should have.

"I am sure that she will adore anything that you will do Emma. Maybe you could draw her a picture of a puppy," Ms. Jensen told her, trying to focus of trying to find the road that she needed to turn onto to get this little girl to yet another home.

Emma didn't answer, instead tried to reach for her bag beside her. The bag had all of her belongings except for her blanket that was placed across her lap. She finally grabbed the strap and managed to pull the bag close enough to get out a pad of paper and a box of crayons. Emma set to work right away, pulling colors out of the _Crayola_ box, scribbling something and then putting it back in favor of another crayon. Throughout the whole project she had her little tongue stuck between her front teeth and her hazel eyes narrowed in concentration.

"What are you drawing Emma?" Ms. Jensen asked after a few silent minutes.

"I tan't tell you. Id's a secwet," she whispered, looking up from her drawing long enough to look at the social worker in the eyes through the mirror before going back to scribbling on her sheet again with a blue crayon.

Ms. Jensen just smiled and went back to driving.

It took them another fifteen minutes for Ms. Jensen to pull down the street with a sign that read _Welcome to Storybrooke_.

"Emma, we are almost there! Look at the sign!" Ms. Jensen said, trying to get the little girl excited.

"Ms. Jensen, I tan't wead yet," Emma said, making it sound like it was very obvious and that everyone should know that.

"Of course. It says that we are in Storybrooke and that is where your new mommy lives," Ms. Jensen told her.

Emma's little face broke out into the biggest smile that Ms. Jensen had ever seen and she was happy that she was here to witness it.

"When awe we gonna be dere?"

"In a few minutes Emma."

"I so escited!" Emma squealed, clapping her little hands together quickly.

Ms. Jensen laughed at Emma as she turned into a small parking lot. According to the files Emma's new mother lived in the loft at the top of this building. Now all she had to do was get Emma up the stairs and into the loft without the toddler throwing up like last time. Of course she had the stomach flu, but she didn't have to puke all over her new parents. Needless to say, the adoption had not lasted long.

"Okay Emma, let's get out and get upstairs to meet your new mommy!" Ms. Jensen said enthusiastically.

Emma's eyes grew wide and instantly her left thumb was stuck into her mouth and the picture she had drawn and her knit blanket clutched in her right hand.

"Do you want me to carry you Emma?"

Emma looked up at the social worker through her thick lashes and Ms. Jensen knew exactly what the blonde toddler wanted.

She grabbed Emma's purple duffle bag, placed the crayons and paper back in and zippered the bag. Throwing it over her shoulder she unbuckled the toddler and placed her on her hip. Ms. Jensen left the car seat, knowing that she would need it for the next child she would bring to a new family.

"Okay Emma, here we go. Now what are we going to remember?"

"My peases and tank yous. And always be nice to da odder tids," Emma said, taking her thumb out of her mouth just long enough to answer.

"And remember that your new mommy will love you, I just know it," Ms. Jensen assured the little girl.

Emma had been through four homes in two years, always getting the taste of what she desired, but never completely getting what she wanted. Her own family.

"Okay Emma, here it is," Ms. Jensen had to put Emma down to knock on the door and the blonde was unhappy to be put down and she instantly glued herself to Ms. Jensen.

Emma's wide hazel eyes stared at the door, not even daring to blink. She could tell that a thousand emotions were running through her head.

Ms. Jensen quickly knocked on the door and soon enough the deep green door that lead to the loft was thrown open to reveal a woman with midnight black hair cut into a pixie cut with a pale face and hazel eyes that matched ones that Ms. Jensen had seen many times throughout the two years she had been working in the adoption agency.

"Hi, I'm Mary Margaret. This must be Emma," the woman smiled brightly at Emma, slightly ignoring Ms. Jensen.

"Say hello Emma," Ms. Jensen prodded the little girl.

Emma raised her hand, waving it along with the slightly crumpled paper and her blanket. Mary Margaret crouched down to look Emma in the eye, a smile plastered on her face the whole time.

"How are you sweetheart?" Mary Margaret asked, reaching out to take Emma's hand.

"Dood. Awe you my new Mommy?" Emma asked, not taking her thumb out of her mouth to speak.

"Thumb out when you speak Emma," Ms. Jensen reminded the little girl gently.

"Yes I am your new Mommy Emma, is that okay with you?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma nodded, a small smile coming onto her face around her thumb.

"Shall we go inside and I can show you your room?" Mary Margaret asked as Emma took her thumb out of her mouth and grabbed Mary Margaret's hand with her slimy, wet hand.

Emma had adored her room, looking around in awe as she took in the large space that was just for her. She had never had so much space just for her before and it was a nice feeling for the little girl.

The room was filled with purple and blue, Emma's two favorite colors. The large single bed was placed against one wall along with a rocking chair placed into one of the corners. The bed was covered in pillows of different shapes and sizes and there was even a purple feathered one shaped like an E in the middle of the stack. Toys were placed neatly around the room, spanning from stuffed animals to _Barbie_ dolls and clothes.

"Dis is all fow me?" Emma asked, amazed as her eyes scanned the room.

Mary Margaret smiled affectionately down at the blonde toddler and nodded. "Do you like it?"

Without a word spoken Emma walked over to the bed and placed her baby blanket and the crumpled up picture on the bed before scrambling up the side. Getting comfortable in the middle of a nest of pillows and her white knit blanket she waved her had at Mary Margaret in a sign to come over.

Mary Margaret obeyed the girl and sat down beside her. Emma stuck her hand out with the picture in her palm.

"For me?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma nodded and pushed her hand out again.

This time Mary Margaret accepted the crumpled, slightly damp, paper and smoothed it out slightly.

Looking down at the picture, she teared up in happiness.

The picture, although it was mostly child's scribbles, was a crudely draw pair of people, one was small and yellow haired, with a blanket in one hand and her other one tucked into the other person's. The second person was a taller one, with black hair and a smile on her face. They were standing on a patch of green grass with the yellow sun peeking out from the corner of the page. There was one flower drawn beside the taller person and it was a bright blue.

"Dat is me, and dat is you," Emma said, pointing out each figure on the page.

"Thank you darling, it's beautiful. And later I'll put it up on fridge for everyone to see," Mary Margaret smiled, putting her arm around her baby girl.

Because there was no doubt that this was her little girl, biological or not, Emma was Mary Margaret's and Mary Margaret was Emma's.

**Please review! Thanks! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I just want to start by saying, wow! 18 reviews for one chapter in two days! I didn't think that this story would get that much feedback so fast. But you guys managed it so thanks a whole bunch!**

**I would list all of your names but I fear that it would take too long and I would bore you into not reading the chapter, but thank you a bunch to all the people who reviewed, favorited, or followed this story, it means a lot to know that you guys liked it that much!**

**Disclaimer: Hey guess what! I still don't own Once Upon A Time! I really wish I did, but sadly, I don't think that is possible. **

**Anyways, enough of me blabbering, here is chapter 2 of ****_The Toddler and the White Blanket_****! **

Chapter 2

After an hour of letting Emma explore the loft and having a drink of hot chocolate, Ms. Jensen headed out with her goodbyes said to Emma and Mary Margaret.

"So, what do you want to do know Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, picking the little girl up off the chair at the table and placing her on her hip.

Emma laid her head on Mary Margaret's shoulder, thumb in her mouth and blanket in hand.

"Is it nap time baby?" Mary Margaret cooed, running her fingers through Emma's little blonde ringlets.

Emma's eyes fluttered as she tried to stay away but after a few seconds of Mary Margaret humming a lullaby and rocking the little girl back and forth, Emma was asleep, resting her warm body against her new mother.

Mary Margaret said nothing, just headed up the stairs into Emma's room and putting her under the covers in Emma's new bed. Emma seemed fine after Mary Margaret stood and watched her for a moment before walking out of the room and down the stairs.

Doing nothing had never been Mary Margaret's strong suit and after a few moments of sitting around and waiting for Emma to be finished with her nap, she was up and bustling around the loft, cleaning up the hot chocolate mugs sitting on the coffee table and anything else she could find that her brain thought was out of place or dirty.

She was whipping down the counter when a loud _bong_ shook through the town, making almost everyone jump. Rushing to the window to see what the sound possibly could have come from.

Her hazel eyes flew across the tops of the buildings, looking for anything loud enough to create such a sound and they fell on the clock tower. It had been out of service for as long as Mary Margaret could remember, always stuck and never moving forwards. But now it was clear as day that the clock read one o'clock. Checking her watch she noticed that it was exactly the right time between her watch and the clock.

Before she could think about it too much, another sound came from upstairs. Crying. Emma.

Mary Margaret jumped the window seat and was rushing up the stairs before she could even think about it. When she got to Emma's room she saw that the toddler was wide away and fusing, obviously not happy about being rudely awoken from her nap. Her new mother rushed from the doorway and over to Emma's bed, grabbing the toddler from under the blankets, along with her white blanket that she seemed to be attached to, and placed Emma in her lap.

"What's wrong Emma?" Mary Margaret cooed, rocking the toddler back and forth slightly.

"Loud," Emma mumbled from her spot of tucking her face into the crock of Mary Margaret's neck.

"Was the clock loud darling? Hmm?" Mary Margaret said, rising from her spot slowly and bringing Emma down the stairs and going down to the kitchen.

She kept the toddler in her arms as she wandered around the kitchen, finding some bread and peanut butter to make the little girl a sandwich for lunch.

"No peanut budder!" Emma said as she took her head out of her hiding spot to look at what Mary Margaret was doing.

"Why not?"

"I no like peanut budder," Emma said, shaking her head back and forth quickly.

"Okay, what would you like then?" Mary Margaret asked, putting the cap back on the peanut butter jar.

"Gwilled cheese," Emma said, putting her thumb in her mouth.

"Well, then I guess that we are going to have to go out to Granny's because I don't have any cheese to make you a sandwich baby. Do you want to get changed or do you want to go out like that?" Mary Margaret asked, putting the jar of peanut butter and the bread back into the pantry.

"I go like dis," Emma said, pulling her blanket up to snuggle her face into in for a moment before hugging it to her chest.

"Are you going to bring your blanket?"

Emma nodded quickly, hugging her blanket tighter to her chest and putting her thumb back into her mouth.

"Okay then, let's get our shoes on."

Emma was not happy to be put down, but she quickly put her shoes onto her feet and waiting for Mary Margaret to put her own shoes on before she tied Emma's little, purple and white sneakers. Afterwards Emma lifted her arms up over her head and waited for Mary Margaret to get the hint and pick her back up.

Emma loved contact with people, it reminded her that they were still there, even when she thought that maybe they didn't want her, when she was picked up, or hugged, she knew that she was loved and that it was going to be just fine.

Mary Margaret placed her jacket over her shoulders, because it looked like it might rain later, before grabbing Emma's off the coat hook and hoisting the girl up from the floor by her armpits to place her lightly on her hip. Emma smiled at her new mother and wrapped her arm around Mary Margaret's neck.

"Let's get going shall we Emma?"

"Where awe we going?" Emma asked, looking Mary Margaret in the eye.

"We are headed to the diner down the street called Granny's. She sells really good hot chocolate, do you like hot chocolate Emma?" Mary Margaret asked as she walked out the door and locked it before heading down the stairs and out into the open air.

"I wike hot chocowate, bud I wike it wif cimanin and Lily said dat dat was weird, bud I stiw wike it," Emma said.

That had been one of the longest things that Emma had told her and Mary Margaret was happy that she was getting the toddler to talk more and that she was beginning to get more and more comfortable around her, even in only the few hours that she had been in Storybrooke.

It took all of fifteen minutes for the pair to get to Granny's and in that time that had many conversations about what Emma liked and did not like. As it turned out, they both liked to go feed the ducks, even though Emma had only been to see ducks a few times, she also enjoyed cuddling, something that Mary Margaret had already figured out. And Emma really wanted a puppy one day, because she thought that puppies were cute and people thought that Emma was cute. Mary Margaret had laughed to herself at the thoughts that ran through Emma's toddler like mind.

When they walked in, Mary Margaret was instantly mobbed by all of the women that were occupying Granny's Diner at that moment.

"Who is this?" Ashley Boyd had cooed, playing with Emma's golden curls.

"When did you get here?" Ruby had asked.

All of the other questions had just gone through one ear and out of the other as Mary Margaret tried to keep up.

"Ladies could you give a woman and her toddler some space to breathe?" an older voice asked from the other side of the mob.

The women parted as Granny, Ruby's grandmother and owner of the diner, walked over to greet Mary Margaret and Emma.

"You must be Emma," Granny said, taking Emma's hand, and the blanket it held, and running her thumb over the soft skin.

"Can you say hi Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, bouncing the suddenly shy little girl.

Emma took her thumb out of her mouth long enough to wave at Granny before placing it back into her mouth and sucking on it a few times.

"Does your thumb taste good Emma?" Granny asked.

Emma just stared at the older woman.

"Why don't you two go find a table and I will send Ruby over in a minute to get your order."

With that Granny was off, bustling around the diner and somehow finding the mind space to do four things at once. Mary Margaret could never understand how she did it. Ruby was soon over and gone, with the request of two hot chocolates with cinnamon, but she had not left the table until Emma had given her a hug, even though the girl was resistant to leave her new mother's lap.

They came back quickly and Emma and Mary Margaret enjoyed their hot chocolates, laughing sporadically throughout as Mary Margaret tickled Emma's sides or Emma said something that Mary Margaret found particularly adorable.

Without the notice of the new mother and daughter the door to the diner flew open, the bell dinging as none other than Regina Mills entered the diner. The mayor was not very happy, her curse was breaking and she knew something was up when the clock tower started to chime again but of course, Mr. Gold had not given her any answers as to why the curse was weakening after only two years in this curse.

That was until her deep brown, broken eyes fell onto the fourth grade teacher and the little blonde toddler who was occupying her lap as the pair laughed and carried on like that had known each other forever, which, I guess, in a way, they had.

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, I am back by popular demand! You guys sure do like this story!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I love the feedback!**

**You guys should go check out my other ONCE story, ****_Happy Ending._**

**And now here is my rant that I need to get off my chest. **

**If they kill off Regina, I will not be a happy Meghan, just so everyone knows! I have seen the pictures and I don't know what order they go in, but the one with Regina getting up better be after the one of Henry crying over her body or the writers will have a very mad fan base to deal with! I am serious, Regina Mills, and Lana Parrilla, are amazing and if they are off Once Upon A Time I will flip!**

**Anyways, that is my rant and here is the next chapter of ****_The Toddler and the White Blanket. _**

**Disclaimer: I still don't one Once Upon A Time guys!**

Chapter 3

"Emma, are you ready to head home baby girl?"

The toddler had been dozing on her mother's shoulder for a few minutes now as Mary Margaret tried to answer all of the questions that the women of Granny's were asking. Many of them were about how old Emma was and when she had gotten to Storybrooke, but Mary Margaret was happy when Emma started to fall asleep and pull at Mary Margaret's shirt shoulder.

"Do you have to go Mary Margaret?" Ruby asked, her eyes trying to get the school teacher to stay a few moments longer.

"Emma is getting tired, probably from all of the attention and I need to be getting home to start on supper," Mary Margaret answered.

"Well, come back soon! I can't wait to see you again Emma!" Ruby called.

Mary Margaret hiked Emma higher on her hip and headed for the door.

"What do you want for supper baby?" Mary Margaret asked Emma, trying to keep her awake so that she would sleep that night instead of keeping Mary Margaret awake all hours of the night.

"Tiny pizza," Emma said.

"What is tiny pizza baby?" Mary Margaret asked, tickling the toddler around her chubby stomach to wake her up a little.

"Little pizzas!" Emma squealed, squirming in Mary Margaret's arms.

"Well, I think that we can do that," Mary Margaret chuckled.

As they headed back home Emma told Mary Margaret all about the little pizzas that they would make, what she wanted to put on them and what she thought was disgusting to put on pizzas.

"So we have decided on putting cheese and pepperoni on our pizzas?" Mary Margaret asked as she unlocked the door and put Emma down on the floor inside the loft.

"Yup!" Emma cried.

"Well, okay then, let's get started then, making pizza is going to take some time, and I might need some of your help to make then just right!" Mary Margaret said, brushing Emma into the kitchen and placing her blanket on one of the bar stools.

"Bud I need my bwanket!" Emma cried as Mary Margaret took it from her hands and put it up.

"Emma, if you have your blanket in your hands the whole time, how can you help me make pizza," Mary Margaret reasoned with the little girl.

"I guess, bud where awe you gonna pud id?" Emma whined.

"I am going to put it right here, and you will be able to see it the whole time," she eased the toddler into trusting her with the precious white knit blanket.

"Otay," Emma said, sounding unsure about the whole thing, but going with it.

"Let's get started baby," Mary Margaret said with enthusiasm.

The two worked for about half an hour, rolling out little pizza dough and putting their toppings of choice on until they finally placed them into the oven.

"Now what do we do baby?" Mary Margaret asked.

"We pick oud a mobie and den when da pizzas awe weady we ead dem and watch da mobie," Emma said, adding arm gestures and jumping around, fully awake again.

"Well, why don't you go pick out a movie for us to watch?" Mary Margaret asked, pointing over to the TV and where she kept her movies that she would bring in sometimes to let the kids in her class watch.

They were mostly _Disney_ movies and Emma was in awe about how many there were, she had never seen so many movies in one spot before. There were all of the princess movies and any other movie she could think of. But one of them stuck out for her.

"I picked one!" Emma cried, rushing back to where Mary Margaret was watching her new little girl with a smile on her face.

"What movie did you pick sweetie?" Mary Margaret asked, crouching down to see the movie cover on Emma's tiny hands.

"Snow White!" Emma cheered.

After their pizzas were cooked and cooled, Mary Margaret cut Emma's up into little pieces and placed their plates on the coffee table and popped the movie into the player before settling in on the couch beside Emma.

Emma scarfed her pizza pieces down as the beginning of the movie played.

"Were they good?" Mary Margaret laughed slightly as she looked at Emma's pizza sauce covered face.

Emma nodded eagerly and Mary Margaret paused the movie long enough to get a wash cloth to clean Emma's face off before she got pizza sauce all over everything. When Mary Margaret put the plates in the sink and sat back down on the couch Emma snuggled close into her and Mary Margaret placed the white knit blanket over the little body.

In the middle of the movie Emma became heavy on Mary Margaret's lap and she knew that Emma was falling asleep.

"What are you doing baby girl? Are you going to fall asleep on me?" Mary Margaret cooed, running her fingers through the blonde curls.

"No Mommy, I not tired," Emma yawned.

Mary Margaret was shocked when Emma called her 'Mommy', but she held her surprise well as she continued running her fingers through the curls.

"Are you sure Emma?"

"Yeah Mommy."

Twice. She called Mary Margaret 'Mommy' twice.

Soon enough Emma was fast asleep in Mary Margaret's lap. All Mary Margaret did was cradle her and carry her up to her bed room and tucking her in. Then, even though she wasn't that tired, headed out of Emma's room and into her room, changing into her pyjamas and getting into bed.

She pulled her book off the table and started to read. But as soon as the read half of a chapter there was a crying from Emma's room. She threw the book down onto the table and rushed out of the room and up the stairs to Emma's room. Mary Margaret hurried over to the bed and grabbed the girl out from the covers.

"What happened baby? Did you have a bad dream?" Mary Margaret cooed, rocking her back and forth a little bit.

"Yeah," Emma hiccupped, rubbing her face into the crook of Mary Margaret's neck.

"Do you wanna come sleep with me tonight baby girl?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Yeah," Emma hiccupped again.

Mary Margaret rose from the bed and brought Emma, and her blanket, down the stairs and into her own room. She threw the blankets back and climbed in, a slight feat while she was holding a toddler in one sniffling toddler in one arm. Lying down she settled Emma down beside her.

Emma was quick to pull her herself closer to Mary Margaret and snuggle in.

"Goodnight baby girl," Mary Margaret said, hugging her close.

"Night, night, mommy," Emma sighed contently.

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, wow, thanks for the awesome feedback and I hope this chapter is too your liking. **

_**Angel Bells**_**, I hope that this update was fast enough and that I didn't break any laws and that you will not be calling the cops or anything on me. ;)**

**Disclaimer: Hey guess what guys! I don't own Once Upon A Time, I wish that I did, but the closest thing that I own to the show is the episode that I bought on iTunes, and... I don't think that counts. **

**And now, without further ado, I give you, Chapter 4 of The Toddler and the White Blanket!**

Chapter 4

"Emma, time to wake up!" Mary Margaret cooed, trying to wake the toddler nicely.

This was Emma's first full day in Storybrooke and Mary Margaret had the whole day planned out to the minute. She was determined to keep the child happy and occupied.

"Five more minutes Mommy," Emma said.

It still confounded Mary Margaret whenever Emma called her 'Mommy'. Even when she had called her that three times the night before and Mary Margaret had lain awake for hours thinking about it and her feelings running through her head.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Mary Margaret asked when Emma finally rolled herself out of her bed and held her arms out from Mary Margaret.

"Awe dere ducks hewe?" Emma asked as Mary Margaret flung her daughter up onto her hip.

"Why of course there are ducks here, do you want to go see the ducks today? We could stop by at Granny's and get some bread to give them," Mary Margaret suggested to the little girl.

"Can we do dat?" Emma asked in awe as she stared at Mary Margaret with wide eyes.

"Of course we can! Do you wanna do that?"

"Yeah!" Emma screeched in Mary Margaret ear, completely awake now.

"Two things first, you have to get dressed and we have to eat breakfast," Mary Margaret asked.

"We need ta go fast!" Emma smiled as Mary Margaret carried her down the stairs.

"Okay! Okay! You need to calm down and take it slow," Mary Margaret laughed and set Emma down at the counter.

"What would you like for breakfast baby girl?"

"Froot Loops Mommy!" Emma cried.

"Well, we don't have Fruit Loops today darling, but we do have Cheerios, can you settle for those today and we can go grocery shopping tonight?" Mary Margaret asked, getting out a bowl, spoon, the milk and the half empty box of Multi-Grain Cheerios.

"Otay Mommy," Emma said, slightly less enthusiastically.

Mary Margaret smiled at the blonde and poured her daughter a bowl of Cheerios and placed the white bowl in front of her before pouring another bowl for herself and sitting down beside Emma.

"So we are going to go see the ducks after breakfast, and what else do you want to do?"

"Can we go swimming at da beach?" Emma asked through a mouthful of half chewed Cheerios.

"It's a little cold for that darling, but maybe we could think of something later, when you are done feeding the ducks," Mary Margaret ran her fingers through her daughter's hair and smiled down at her.

Emma's cheeks were stuffed full with Cheerios and she had the slight appearance of a chipmunk, which made Mary Margaret laugh.

"Are you finished?" Mary Margaret asked as Emma swallowed her mouthful of chewed cereal.

She nodded and tried to get down from the stool, only to realise that it was too high up for her to jump and held her arms out for her mother.

"You are just a hair too small right now," Mary Margaret informed the toddler as she placed her on the floor and ushered her upstairs.

Emma giggled as Mary Margaret chased her daughter up the staircase and into her room. Emma only had a few outfits, the things that had been in her bag when she got here and Mary Margaret would be lying if she said that the clothes weren't in the least bit ratted and frayed. She could tell that Emma's clothes were hand me downs from at least two other children, but Emma didn't seem to care as she stood in front of her mother as she picked through the limited amount of clothes in the closet. She finally settled on a pair of jeans with numerous holes, a blue tee-shirt with a frayed hem and flowers covering it and a ratted, GAP sweater. Emma tried to get her clothes on quickly but only managed to get tangled in the fabric until Mary Margaret chuckled and helped Emma into her clothes.

"Now can we go to the ducks?" Emma asked.

"We  
have to brush your hair and stop at Granny's to get some bread, but we are almost ready sweetheart, and I have to get dressed too, I can't go out in my pyjamas!" Mary Margaret said as she gestured to her pink pyjama shirt and cupcake covered flannel pants.

"Bud you look pretty Mommy!" Emma said, grabbing Mary Margaret's wrist and trying to pull her out of the room.

After hastily getting dressed, brushing Emma's hair and running down to Granny's for a bag of bread, Mary Margaret and Emma were standing by the water, watching the ducks float around as Emma tossed pieces of bread along the shoreline and laughed as the ducks raced towards it before tossing another.

The moment didn't last too long because Emma had quickly finished off the bag of bread and then a light mist started to fall, not uncommon in Storybrooke.

When they turned to head home they found Archie and the large Dalmatian, Pongo, headed towards them.

"Puppy Mommy!" Emma cried, pointing at the dog from her spot in her mother's arms.

"I see the dog Emma," Mary Margaret said as Archie came over to say hi, Pongo pulling excitedly at his leash.

"Down! _Down!_" Emma cried as she struggled to be put back down to pet Pongo, who was taller than the toddler.

"Emma, what do you say?"

"Pease!" Emma huffed, still squirming.

Mary Margaret put her down before she fell and turned to greet Archie in conversation, still keeping an eye on Emma as she tried to reach Pongo's head.

Pongo, who was very calm throughout the whole time that Emma was jumping around with her hand in the air, laid down on his stomach and Emma took advantage of this and started to pet him happily. Pongo was happy with his new friend and tried to get a few friendly licks on Emma's smiling face.

"Mommy I wanna puppy!" Emma cried from her mother's arms as they walked home from the beach.

"How about we go down to the animal shelter and you can _look_ at the puppies, and if there is one who seems housebroken enough, we might take them home," Mary Margaret tried to appease the toddler.

"Otay! Go now Mommy?"

"Why not?" Mary Margaret said.

As they passed the shelter on their way home she turned into the building and set Emma free. She instantly toddled over to the pen filled with puppies in the middle of the room. She tried to get in with them but couldn't as her legs weren't long enough to reach over the wall of the pen.

It took all of thirty seconds for Emma to get attached to a little female cocker spaniel puppy that stood at the front of the puppy pack as they all jumped up, trying to little the squealing toddler.

"Dat one Mommy!" Emma cried, pointing at the cocker spaniel.

May Margaret walked over to look at the one that Emma was talking about, she was reasonably sized, small enough that she could live in the apartment, and she looked sweet enough not to harm anything.

"You can pick her up if you want," a voice said from the counter.

Mary Margaret spun around the see a man and instantly got lost in his eyes. Eyes that she thought were familiar, even though she had never met this man before in her life, which she could remember anyways.

"Pardon?" she asked, shaking her head slightly.

"The puppy, you can pick her up if you want. I promise that she won't pee on you or anything," the man smiled and walked over to stand behind Emma as she reached over the top of the wall to pet the cocker spaniel.

"I'm David Nolan, by the way," the man stuck his hand out towards Mary Margaret.

"Mary Margaret Blanchard, and that is my daughter Emma," Mary Margaret stuttered out, breathless.

"Did you want that one?" David asked.

Mary Margaret nodded, still lost in his eyes. His beautiful blue eyes.

"Really Mommy?" Emma squealed, making the dogs yap sharping in surprise.

"I told you that you could pick one out and if she seemed to my liking that we could take it home," Mary Margaret nodded towards the little blonde.

"Do you want to hold her Emma?" David asked.

Emma's eyes became wide as she nodded excitedly. David pulled the little cocker spaniel puppy out of the pen and placed her carefully into Emma's arms, not completely taking his hands off the puppy.

"Are you signing the papers Mary Margaret?" David asked.

"Sure, but don't we need a name first?" she asked.

"Of course, do you have any names Emma?" David asked, looking back down at the toddler with her arms full of squirming puppy trying to lick her face.

"Lady! A'cause I sawed a mobie about two puppies and one wooked wike dis one!" Emma said happily.

"Lady it is!"

As Mary Margaret let the puppy loose into the loft with Emma after getting home and placing all of the dog things onto the floor in the living room, she couldn't get David Nolan out of her head. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that she had knowing him well, very well, somewhere else. He was just too familiar to ignore anything like that.

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, thanks to all of the reviews, follows and favorites that you guys have given! It means a lot!**

**Sorry for the wait for this chapter, I had a busy schedule and I didn't get around to finishing this chapter. **

**Regina is not in this chapter, sadly, even though she is my favorite character, like of all time, but I didn't know of a way to put her into this chapter. For the people that have been asking, well more like begging, here is a chapter about Emma and Mary Margaret going clothes shopping. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time, but I think that I have figured something out about something and I am not telling you what it is because I have no idea if I am right or not. Hehe. **

**Here is chapter 5!**

Chapter 5

Mary Margaret woke up the next morning to a yapping puppy pulling at her blankets and a little girl jumping around on her bed. She sighed and reached her hands up to grab Emma around her waist and pull her close.

"What are you doing baby girl?" Mary Margaret asked the squealing toddler.

"I's wakin' you up Mommy!" Emma cried as the dog yapped and jumped again.

"Why are you waking me up at," Mary Margaret looked over at the clock. "6:30 in the morning?"

"A'cause I wanna go oud to pway wif Lady!" Emma squealed and tried to squirm out of her mother's arms.

"Well, seeing as you need new clothes why don't we go out and get you some clothes and we can go out with Lady later," Mary Margaret said, looking down at the girl's hand me down clothes with a smile.

"What's wong wif my cwothes?" Emma asked, pulling at the neck of her pyjama shirt.

"Well, they are kind of old sweetheart, and wouldn't you like to have some clothes that are brand new?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma contemplated the options before nodding in agreement.

"Do you want it to just be you and me or do you want someone else to come out with us?" Mary Margaret asked, sitting up to grab Lady around her middle and place her on the bed beside them.

The puppy happily jumped around the two, licking and barking happily. Emma laughed and grabbed the puppy, hugging her close before putting her back on the mattress.

"I wan Wuby to come wif us!" Emma squealed and bounced around her bottom on the bed.

"Stop bouncing on the bed baby, you might fall off and hurt yourself," Mary Margaret said, trying to wrangle the squirming puppy in her arms.

"Can we go to Gwanny's fow bweakfas?" Emma asked.

"I guess we can, seeing as we are going to ask Ruby if she wants to come shopping with us anyways. You have to get dressed before we go," Mary Margaret told her, throwing the covers off and stepping into her slippers.

Lady yapped unhappily at the thought of being left alone on the bed until Mary Margaret turned around and grabbed her around the middle and cradled the dog on their walk up to Emma's room to get her dressed for the day. The puppy was happy to look around from her high vantage point in Mary Margaret's arms, although Mary Margaret never considered herself tall at all.

"What do you wanna wear today Em?" Mary Margaret asked as Emma crawled up onto her bed and Mary Margaret pulled the closet door open after placing the puppy beside her daughter.

"What do you like Mommy?" Emma asked, looking at the woman.

"Well, I think that you should pick because it's what you are going to wear baby," Mary Margaret said, smiling at the girl as the puppy bounced around her daughter.

It took Mary Margaret and Emma twenty minutes and one almost tantrum to get them down the street to the diner. They quickly ordered their breakfast from Ruby and asked her if she would like to accompany them shopping. Ruby was quick to take the day off to head off to the shops with Mary Margaret and her munchkin, which is what she called Emma.

"So what are we looking for?" Ruby asked happily as she walked down the street beside Mary Margaret.

Emma was sitting in a brand new stroller that Granny dug out from somewhere. She was not happy about the inability to see Mary Margaret but she was soon pacified when Mary Margaret wrapped her legs up with her white blanket and Emma had soothed herself by placing her thumb in her mouth after almost having a meltdown when Mary Margaret strapped her daughter down.

"Clothes, anything else that she wants, but to an extent," Mary Margaret informed Ruby.

"So what is the extent?" Ruby asked, running her fingers through her hair.

"I don't want her to be too spoiled," Mary Margaret told her.

With that they turned into a toddler clothes shop, when they walked in Mary Margaret was amazed with the amounts of children clothes. She had never seen so many little pieces of clothes in one place before. Sure she had done her share of babysitting before, but she had never been into a children's clothes store.

They spent two hours shopping for Emma and the little girl was happy to just snuggle up in the stroller with the pile of stuffed animals that they had found during their store jumping. She still couldn't fall asleep, she was being irritated everything that her mother was putting up against her, trying to see if she would fit into the clothes that the two thought were adorable.

"No Mommy!" Emma cried as Mary Margaret held up the tenth shirt up to Emma's torso.

"Are you ready for a nap Emma?" Mary Margaret asked as she handed the pile of clothes over to Ruby to put them back on the racks, knowing that Emma was ready to head home and crash.

"No!" Emma screamed.

"Do you wanna go home and see Lady?" Mary Margaret asked, unclipping the straps on the stroller and pulling Emma out along with the blanket.

She draped the blanket over Emma and bounced her slightly on her hip, trying to calm the toddler.

"No Mommy!" Emma screamed, pushing away from Mary Margaret.

"Is she okay?" Ruby asked, coming back to the mother and daughter.

"Yeah, just overtired and cranky," Mary Margaret assured her friend.

"Should I…?" Ruby asked.

Mary Margaret only nodded and headed out the door to keep the rest of the store undisturbed so that she could calm the toddler.

It surprisingly only took her a few moments to get Emma calm enough for Ruby to come out and they headed back to Mary Margaret's apartment.

"So, do you need any help putting all of this stuff away?" Ruby asked.

"Are you just trying to keep away from the diner Ruby?" a voice asked from behind the two women.

They spun around to see Sheriff Graham smiling on the sidewalk.

"What are you talking about there, Sheriff?" Ruby laughed.

"You are skipping out on work and I heard from Granny that you were out with Mary Margaret and her new little one and I wanted to meet her in person instead of hearing about her," Graham explained, walking over to take a better look at the little blonde toddler leaning on Mary Margaret's shoulder with her thumb in her mouth.

Emma's big blue eyes were staring at the sheriff with confusing and slight fear, looking him over.

"Can you say hello Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, looking down at her little girl.

All Emma did was snuggle closer into Mary Margaret and wave her hand slightly, letting the blanket she was clutching to wave back and forth.

"She is a little tired right now, sorry," Mary Margaret apologised to the sheriff.

"Oh, no harm done," Graham said, waving and keeping on his walk back over to his car.

When the girls reached the apartment Ruby and Mary Margaret were greeted by Lady and the dog was jumping around as they headed up the stairs into Emma's room. Mary Margaret placed Emma into her bed, tucked her in as Ruby placed all of the bags that they had onto the floor before heading back down the stairs.

Before Mary Margaret shut the door, Lady scampered into the bedroom and jumped around by the bed until Mary Margaret placed her on the bed. The little puppy was quick to curl up under Emma's feet, right underneath the balls of her feet.

Mary Margaret smiled at the picture before her before she shut the door and headed down the stairs.

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So, if you are a fan of the Hunger Games and you have not seen Catching Fire yet, you really do need to go see it because it is amazing! Like it is everything that you would hope for and then more!**

**This is for the fact that there is no ONCE this weekend, which I am very sad about because they left us with that crazy cliff hanger! And now I have to wait until next weekend to see if Henry is going to make it and what they are going to do about that little brat named Peter Pan! That and they said this summer that there would be 11 straight episodes without any breaks, well, hey guess what! You lied, and lying is not very nice!**

**Anyways, that was my rant. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time! Simple as that. **

Chapter 6

Emma slept for a good four hours before waking up to find Lady asleep on her bed and no idea where her mother was.

So, being the toddler that she was, started to cry, wanting her Mommy but not knowing how to find her because she was still new to her house and was not entirely sure how to get around the house yet.

Mary Margaret heard her little girl crying from her spot downstairs on the couch. She had been waiting for Emma to wake up so they could find something to do for the rest of the afternoon before going to Granny's for dinner like Mary Margaret had promised the little girl.

"I'm coming Emma!" Mary Margaret called as she placed her book down beside her and headed up the stairs quickly, taking them two at a time.

She could hear Lady's little quick yaps joining Emma's cries as she neared her daughter's bedroom. Pushing open the door she found Lady bounding around on the vast place that she found on Emma's bed and Emma was trying to keep her puppy from falling of the bed, the tears still falling from her eyes.

"Emma what is the matter baby?" Mary Margaret cooed as she rushed over to Emma's bed, sitting on the edge.

"I didn't know whewe ta find you!" Emma sniffed and reached her little arms out for Mary Margaret to hug her.

Quickly she gathered the toddler into her arms, hugging her tightly and rocking back and forth slightly. Lady quickly bounded over through the mass of blankets that were mussed and crumpled, tumbling over the last fold of the quilt and rolling into Mary Margaret's leg.

"Well, now that I am here, is it all better?" Mary Margaret asked, leaning back slightly to look into Emma's face.

Emma nodded, her ruffled blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders happily.

"Now what would you like to do? We could go take Lady for a walk, or we could go straight to Granny's and hang out until its supper time," Mary Margaret asked, lifting Emma up and placing her on her hip as she stood up to head downstairs.

Deciding to be brave, Lady jumped down from the top of the bed and walked out the door with her little head held high as she followed Mary Margaret and Emma.

"Tan we take Wady to Gwanny's wif us?" Emma asked from her perch on her mother's hip as they walked down the stairs.

Mary Margaret had lifted Lady up from the floor and held her in her free hand. Emma reached over to pet the puppy, making her ears flap around side to side with Emma's hand.

"I guess that we could, I don't think Granny could say no to you baby girl," Mary Margaret said, tapping the girl's button nose with a smile.

"Tan we go now?" Emma asked.

"Are you ready to go baby? Do you need anything before we leave?" Mary Margaret asked, knowing that the little girl would need her blanket before she left the apartment.

"My bwanket!" Emma gasped, her hands suddenly reaching out towards the stairs again, trying to reach her blanket.

"Okay, you wait here," Mary Margaret said as she placed the girl on the couch with Lady. "And I will be right back with you blanket."

Emma nodded, her eyes wide and Lady instantly walking over, uneasily on the padded couch, up to Emma's lap, reaching up to lick her cheeks. Emma giggled and before she knew it Mary Margaret was back with her white knit blanket and a pair of little blue sneakers for Emma to wear.

Kneeling down she placed the blanket in Emma's lap, covering Lady in the process and making Emma giggle as she put the little sneakers on Emma's tiny feet, fastening the Velcro strips and putting Emma down on the floor.

"Can you go get Lady's leash for me baby?" Mary Margaret asked.

The little blonde was happy to obey and was quick to rush off to pull Lady's turquoise leash off of the hook and rushing off back to Mary Margaret. Handing the wound leash to Mary Margaret she fastened it around Lady's collar.

"Now we can head out Emma," Mary Margaret said, putting Lady on the floor, the leash wrapped around her hand and her free hand enveloped Emma's tiny hand.

Emma smiled up at her mother and Mary Margaret lead the way out of the apartment, Lady walking beside her with her head held high and proud.

When they arrived at Granny's, Mary Margaret was proven right when Granny was quick to let the toddler bring her little cocker spaniel into the diner, and even bringing a dog treat over for the puppy that she usually kept on hand for Pongo.

"What would you like to eat Emma?" Mary Margaret asked as she pointed to the pictures on the kids menu that Ruby had given her moments ago.

"Dinosaurs Mommy," Emma said, pointing at the picture of chicken nuggets shaped as different dinosaurs.

"I think that we can do that," Mary Margaret smiled.

Lady was curled up in Mary Margaret's lap, happily snoozing away, tired out from the walk and her stomach full from the dog treat that Granny had given her. The little family didn't notice when the bell over the door sounded and none other than Regina Mills walked in.

The woman was on a mission, looking around desperately to find someone or something. When her eyes landed on Mary Margaret and Emma, she smirked and headed over to the pair.

"Hello Ms. Blanchard," Regina greeted.

"Madam Mayor, how are you?" Mary Margaret asked politely, as she took the salt shaker from Emma's hands and placed it far away from where the little girl could reach.

"Good, and who might this be?" Regina asked, already partially knowing this answer.

"This is Emma, my daughter, Emma can you say hi to Regina?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma cuddled close to her mother and put her thumb into her mouth, the same one that was clutching her blanket. With the other she waved shyly towards the regal mayor.

"How old are you, sweetheart?" Regina asked, putting on a smile when she looked at the adorable toddler.

"How old are you Emma?" Mary Margaret urged when Emma didn't answer after a few seconds.

"Two and eight monfs," Emma lisped around her thumb.

"Well, that is pretty old now isn't it?" Regina said, not daring to touch the little blonde.

Emma giggled but said nothing.

"Well, I really must be off, I have a meeting to attend to," Regina said, partially lying as she nodded in goodbye and spun on her heel, heading back out the door.

She had to speak to Mr. Gold about some things.

"She's scawy Mommy," Emma whispered around her thumb as soon as the door shut behind Regina.

"You are very right darling," Mary Margaret laughed, giving her daughter a one armed hug.

"Thanks Ruby, it was really good," Mary Margaret thanked her friend as she paid for their dinners and lifted the puppy and the toddler into her arms.

"No problem Mary Margaret and you have a good night Emma," Ruby told the toddler who was sucking her thumb happily while sitting on her mother's hip.

"What movie do you want to watch tonight baby?" Mary Margaret asked when they were halfway home.

"Umm… Wady and da Twamp, a'cause den Wady tan watch it wif us," Emma said, taking her thumb out of her mouth to talk about to her mother.

"Okay then baby," Mary Margaret laughed and hoisted her higher up onto her hip, a smile on her face.

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, sorry for the wait, but I have been very busy lately. **

**And HOLY COW! 101 reviews! Thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed! It is so awesome to see how much you guys love this story! Thanks a whole bunch!**

**For all of the people demanding Snowing, have no fear, there is a little tiny bit in this chapter and more to come as the story progresses. **

**Disclaimer: Hey, I am a 15 year old girl, so obviously I do not own Once Upon A Time, just in case you were wondering. **

**And now, for Chapter 7 of The Toddler and the White Blanket!**

Chapter 7

"Don' weave Mommy!" Emma cried, reaching towards her mother.

"It is only for a few hours Emma and then I will be back for you, I'm not leaving forever," Mary Margaret said, trying to console the little girl while having the resolve to not call in sick to avoid the tantrum that Emma was going to throw.

"Yeah we are going to have fun today. Do you want to help me make some cookies?" Granny asked the crying toddler in her granddaughter's arms.

"No!" Emma screamed, trying to fight off Ruby, who was desperately holding onto Emma, trying to keep her from falling onto the floor.

"Well then what would you like to do today?" Granny asked, distracting Emma as Mary Margaret snuck out the door.

"Mommy!" Emma yelled.

"Mommy has to go to work, but do you want to play with Lady?" Ruby asked, finally getting the girl into a position that was easy for Ruby to keep a hold of her.

Mary Margaret had dropped Emma and Lady off at the diner that morning so that she could go back to work and rid her class of the substitute teacher. She was not happy to let her little girl out of her sight, but knew that it was going to happen at one point so she decided to get it over with before Emma got too comfortable with Mary Margaret being home all day every day.

Lady, who had heard her name, lifted her head off of the pillow she had been lying on to look around for the source of the voice that had called her name. When she saw Emma crying she scampered over to where Ruby was standing, balanced herself on her back legs, placing her front feet on Ruby's shin and started barking to get the toddler's attention.

When Emma looked down to see her puppy, she reached for the dog, wanting to snuggle with something that wasn't just her blanket.

Granny picked the puppy up off the floor and placed her in Ruby's free hand, who held her close to Emma so the toddler could hug her dog.

"Wady," Emma cooed, snuggling her face into the puppy fluff all over Lady's back.

"Yeah, so what do you want to do baby girl?" Granny asked.

"Tookies?" Emma asked, lifting her face from Lady's back and looking at Granny with a puppy dog pout.

"We can definitely bake some cookies. What kind of cookies would you like to make?" Granny asked, lifting the little girl out of Ruby's arms to take her into the kitchen at the back of the diner.

"Chocowate chip!" Emma squealed, completely taking her mind off of the fact that Mary Margaret was gone.

"Granny what do I do with Lady?" Ruby called from the diner.

"Just bring her out here and we can let Emma sit with her," Granny called out to Ruby.

Ruby scurried in, Lady happily sitting in her arms, looking around at the new room. Granny put Emma down on the floor as Ruby put Lady in her lap.

"So how are we going to keep her busy for the next six hours?" Ruby asked her grandmother quietly.

"Well, we distract her with things that little girls like. Stories and her puppy," Granny answered, looking down at Emma and Lady.

"Until she is fine with Mary Margaret leaving her? I don't think that that will work forever, eventually she is going to get bored," Ruby argued.

"Of course, but at that point we will find other things that she likes and those things will distract her too," Granny answered.

When lunch time ran around, there was a rush of people flooding into Granny's, just like every day. Emma liked watching all of the people coming in the door from her comfortable spot in Ruby's arms, snuggled up in her blanket with her thumb in her mouth as Ruby took orders from the customers.

All of the people enjoyed meeting Emma, smiling at her and some brave enough to even tickle the toddler. She smiled at most people, sometimes laughing when they tickled her. The people that Emma did not like were Leroy, who thought that she was just another annoying munchkin that would irritate him, and Mr. Gold, who was just grumpy and irritable as he ordered a sandwich and his usual cup of coffee. She seemed to think that Leroy was funny as he stumbled out of the diner later, drunk, and she seemed to be in between being scared of Mr. Gold and wanting to give him a big hug to melt his ice cold heart, like she had seen in the movies.

"Hello Miss. Emma, how are you today?" a voice asked from behind Ruby and her new accessory.

Emma spun around to see David, the man from the animal shelter, smiling down at her.

"Dabid!" Emma squealed, knowing the face that had helped her get her puppy.

"How is Lady doing at your house Emma?" David asked as she reached out for him to take her and he gladly accepted.

"Dood, she's ober dere wight now, she's takin' a nap," Emma answered, pointing to the back room where Granny had placed the dog in an effort to keep her from jumping all over the customers.

"Oh really, and are you going to take a nap today Emma?" David asked.

"No a'cause I's a big girl!" Emma cried as Ruby nodded yes to his question from behind her.

"I can stay and keep her busy for a few hours if you need me," David told Ruby.

"Thank you so much!" Ruby cried as she rushed back out to the kitchen to grab some of the orders that were ready.

David smiled and bounced Emma higher up on his hip as Emma put her thumb back into her mouth.

Two hours later Emma was finally crashing, thanks to David keeping her busy and active. Now they were sitting in the back booth, David holding Emma to his chest as she sucked her thumb and clutched her blanket. Lady was lying happily beside me, panting contently from her time chasing the waddling toddler around the diner.

"Awe you gonna mawwy my Mommy?" Emma asked David, half asleep and her eyes closing slowly.

"Well, umm…" David was at a loss for words at the toddler's question.

"Ruby I'm back!"

At the voice, David's head whipped up from watching Emma to look at who had come through the door. Mary Margaret was headed towards the counter; completely oblivious to the fact that David was sitting at the back with her daughter.

"Where's Emma?" Mary Margaret asked as Ruby came out from the kitchen without her daughter.

"David has her," Ruby answered simply, handing Mary Margaret Emma's bag from the day.

"David who?"

"Nolan, the guy who works at the animal shelter. They are over at the booth in the back, Emma is almost asleep. I figured you would have noticed them when you walked in," Ruby answered, pointing over to the pair in the corner.

Without an answer, Mary Margaret grabbed the back, threw it across her shoulder and rushed over to grab her daughter from David.

"Thanks for watching her, I guess," Mary Margaret said, taking the now asleep Emma from David, letting the little girl fall against her shoulder.

"It was no problem, she is a sweetheart."

Mary Margaret smiled, trying not to get lost in the bright blue eyes of David Nolan.

**Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, I think this is the longest chapter that I have written, so I am pretty happy with myself. So, I plan to have a few more chapters out before Christmas, but I don't really know how that is going to go because I get sidetracked a lot. **

**Anyways, holy cow! Thanks for the over 100 reviews! That is crazy! Thanks so much for that!**

**I have recently, as in yesterday, sent a letter (along with a bracelet and a picture for her to sign) to Lana Parrilla, who is my role model, so I will see what will happen with that. I am super excited to see if she answers it or signs the picture. **

**WHO ELSE IS EXCITED FOR SUNDAY? AHH! BACK TO** STORYBROOKE!

**Disclaimer: I don't, under any circumstances, own Once Upon A Time!**

Chapter 8

Regina walked regally through the hospital, looking around at the patients to make sure that they paid no attention to her at all. She failed to notice the man following behind her, stepping behind large objects when she turned to look behind her.

She turned and looked over her shoulder as he ducked behind a post. When she was satisfied with what she saw, Regina turned around and typed in a passcode into the keypad on the wall beside the door.

The man ran towards the door, making sure that he was going to get into the basement. Jefferson was the man's name, and he had no idea what was down in the basement of the hospital, but he knew that if the mayor of this town was involved, it's not a good thing. He knew this because he remembered. He remembered everything.

"What are you hiding Madame Mayor?" Jefferson asked himself.

He pushed through the door, following behind Regina as she walked up to an unmarked door, flipping up a little door at the top of the door and looking in with the evil smirk that the mayor was known for. Jefferson looked on at the scene, wondering what was on the other side of the door.

When Regina turned to leave, satisfied that the nameless girl behind the door was still miserable and terrified, curled into a ball in the far corner, knowing that once a day the cold, dark eyes would look through the little door with the only emotion that she could see being irritation.

Jefferson ducked behind the post as Regina walked back up the stairs and out the door. When he heard the door shut, he ran over to the empty desk, grabbed the keys and then rushed over to the door that Regina had just been standing at.

He had to jam a few different keys into the lock to find the right one, but when he did he threw the door open, effectively scarring the nameless girl into falling off the padded bench.

She stared at him, fear and terror prominent in her eyes as she looked at him.

"Don't be scared, I am here to get you out. Listen your name is Belle French and you need to go find a man named Mr. Gold. This is very important, you need to find the man named Mr. Gold and you need to tell him that Regina locked you up. Now, what do you have to do?" Jefferson informed the girl.

"I need to find Mr. Gold," she answered timidly.

"And what do you need to tell him?"

"I need to tell him that Regina… locked me up?" Belle answered.

"And what is your name?" This was important.

"Belle French?" she answered, but it sounded more like a question.

"Yes, now come on, we need to go," Jefferson said, grabbing a jacket and throwing it over her slightly shoulders.

Jefferson rushed her out of the hospital, making sure that nobody had seen him basically stealing a 'mental patient'.

Three days later, Mary Margaret walked past the library and noticed that the boards on the windows and the newspapers were gone and there was someone in the library.

"Look at that Emma, the library is opened!" Mary Margaret said, pointing at the door with her free hand.

"We go?" Emma asked, pointing over at the window.

"Maybe later sweet cheeks, but for now I have to go to work and you get to go hang out with Granny and Ruby and Lady," Mary Margaret said, pulling Lady slightly as the puppy stopped to sniff at the garbage can on the curb.

Emma huffed but didn't beg to go into the library.

When the group got into the diner, Mary Margaret wandered over to the counter. Lady yipped and headed out into the kitchen, knowing that Granny was going to give her a treat.

"So, Ruby, I need a babysitter for tonight, can you babysit for me?"

"So, do you have a hot date?" Ruby teased her.

"No! I have a teacher thing that I have to attend and it is supposed to go until late," Mary Margaret said, putting Emma down on one of the bar stools. Putting Emma's blanket around her shoulders, Emma put her head on the counter, almost asleep.

"Well," Ruby wondered.

Just as she began her sentence, the bell on the door rang and they turned to look at who came it.

She was small, brunette and she looked amazed at everything around her. Her hair was curled and her big blue eyes were wide with excitement. She was wearing heels, but she seemed to be able to walk in them.

"Ask Belle!" Ruby cried, running over to the brunette by the door.

"What?"

The girl became really confused, looking around as Ruby put her arm around her shoulder and steered her over to Mary Margaret.

"Hello," the girl smiled at Mary Margaret.

"Hi?"

"Belle, this is Mary Margaret and she said that she needs a babysitter for tonight," Ruby informed the confused brunette.

"What's that?" Belle asked.

"You would come over to Mary Margaret's, and watch this little munchkin right here," Ruby pointed at Emma. "And their little dog Lady who is a total sweetheart."

"Ruby I don't know about this," Mary Margaret answered, looking over Belle.

"She is perfectly fine I promise, she is new but she is very nice, aren't you Belle?" Ruby said, trying to sell the idea to Mary Margaret.

"Well, I only really know Ruby, and Granny and Mr. Gold, but they seem to like my company," the girl answered.

"Where did you come from Belle?" Mary Margaret asked.

"If we are being completely honest, someone let her out of the mental ward in the basement of the hospital, never knew that was there but whatever. Mr. Gold got her looked over by Archie and she seems perfectly normal, a little mal nourished but other than that, completely normal," Granny answered for her, coming out of the kitchen with Lady on her heels.

"Just one more thing," Mary Margaret said.

She picked the almost asleep Emma up and tickled the little girl to get her to wake up.

"Emma, this is Belle, and I want to know what you would think of letting her come babysit you tonight while I go out," Mary Margaret asked the toddler.

Emma watched Belle for a moment, looking her over.

"Do you like books Emma?" Belle asked.

Emma's eyes grew happy, smiling at the mere mention of books.

"I could bring you a few books from the library if you would like," Belle suggested, unknowingly winning over the little blonde.

Emma nodded happily, a big smile on her face.

"Well, I will see you at 6."

Belle arrived at exactly 6 o'clock, being dropped off by Mr. Gold with a bag with one very special book. Jefferson had given it to Belle at the library that day, explaining that she would have to give it to Emma.

He never told her what was in it, but when Belle got a break at the library, she flipped through the stories in the book at realised that it was a book filled with everyone's stories. From Jiminy Cricket to even her own story with Rumple. She smiled and thought of what Emma was going to do when she gave the toddler the huge, leather bound book.

Knocking on the door of the loft, Mary Margaret answered, dressed in a nice white dress with a pink cardigan and shiny silver flats.

"Emma and Lady are just inside. They have both eaten and Emma can go to bed whenever she gets tired. If she doesn't want to go to bed, that doesn't matter, she might not want to go to sleep until I get home," Mary Margaret answered.

Belle nodded, following Mary Margaret into the living room and finding Emma and Lady watching a movie on the television.

Mary Margaret headed out the door with minimal tears from Emma and Belle sat down with Emma and Lady, pulling out the big leather bound book from her bag.

"I brought you a book Emma, and you get to keep it. It's called 'Once Upon A Time' and it is filled with stories that I think you will love," Belle answered, placing the big book and Emma's little blanket covered lap.

"For me?"

"Just for you," Belle smiled at the little girl.

When Mary Margaret walked through the door at 10:30, she found Belle on the couch with a huge book in her lap and Emma asleep against her. Lady was curled up at Belle's feet.

"Was she okay for you?"

"She was a perfect angel," Belle smiled, shifting the little girl off of her lap, placing the book beside her on the couch and walking over to Mary Margaret.

"Oh, don't forget your book," Mary Margaret said.

"Oh, no, you keep it. It's for Emma," Belle answered, sliding on her shoes and slipping out the door, leaving Mary Margaret wondering exactly what the girl meant by the wispy tone of her voice.

Ignoring it, she walked over to the couch, lifted Emma carefully along with the book, she headed up the steps to Emma's room.

Tucking the little girl into her bed, Mary Margaret kissed her forehead and set the book on the bedside table.

**Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, so I guess that I forgot to explain some things last chapter. **

**Because Belle was in the mental ward during the 28 years of the curse on the show, in my mind, Regina never found a reason to give her any memories, simply locking her up, taking away her memories (never giving her any other ones) and keeping her away from Rumpelstiltskin. So when Jefferson let her out, she never knew anything, not even her name. When he told her that her name was Belle, everything came back to her. In short, Belle does have her memories. **

**For those who thought that putting Belle into this story was random and pointless, I guess it is, for now anyways. I have plans for her and Mr. Gold. Jefferson, well I just needed someone to break Belle out of the hospital. **

**I hope this is fast enough updating for everyone. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time, at all. BUT TODAY IS SUNDAY, WHICH MEANS ONCE UPON A TIME IS ON TONIGHT!**

**#PanNeverFails they say? Well, of course there is a first time for everything. Just so they know that. ;)**

Chapter 9

"Emma, are you ready for bed?" Mary Margaret, coming over to the toddler sitting on the couch with Lady.

Emma was flipping through the book that she got from Belle, looking at the pictures of the different characters with each passing story. Stopping at a picture of Snow White and Prince Charming at their wedding, Emma looked up at her mother, looked back at the picture, looked up at her mother, made a note in her head and then nodded.

"Tan we wead Snow White tonight Mommy?" Emma asked, lifting the book up to give Mary Margaret.

"Sure baby," Mary Margaret smiled, taking the heavy book from Emma.

Emma grabbed her blanket off the couch, jumped up and ran up the stairs to put on her pyjamas. Mary Margaret watched her run, Lady on her heels as the little girl trouped up the stairs. Mary Margaret was looking down at the book in her arms, her daughter had become almost attached to the book since Belle had handed it over to her. She knew that toddlers did get attached to things, look at Emma with her blanket, but she was worried that Emma would get to attached to the fairy tales in the book and only read those. She would have to read other things at some point. But for now Mary Margaret was happy to read the stories to her daughter and watch her get so engaged into the stories she had heard so many times.

Emma's favorite at the moment was Snow White, she loved that the princess was not as helpless as Disney had let on, and she thought she could see someone in the princess, but she couldn't place a finger on exactly who out of the limited people that she had met it was.

"Are you coming Mommy?" the voice floated down to Mary Margaret from the top of the stairs.

"Are you ready for bed darling?"

"Yes Mommy!"

"Then I am on my way!" Mary Margaret laughed and headed up the stairs.

"As Prince Charming placed Emma into the magical wardrobe, he told her to find them before closing the door to face to guards," Mary Margaret ended the story there.

In reality that was technically the end of the story, according to the book, but Emma had noticed that all of the other stories had ending, in one way or another.

"Why doesn't that story have an ending Mommy?" Emma asked as Mary Margaret placed the book on her bedside table, the normal resting place for the book when Emma was sleeping.

"Maybe they forgot to write the ending," Mary Margaret answered.

"Do you fink dat de taracters awe stiww wriding de story?" Emma asked, trying to cover up her yawn.

"Maybe they are, and so the writer didn't want to write the ending because he didn't want them to do something different and then the story would not be the same as the real thing," Mary Margaret suggested.

"I have the same name as the baby princess Mommy," Emma mentioned, curling up under the blankets, Lady at her side.

Mary Margaret would take the puppy downstairs with her when she went so that she wouldn't keep Emma awake all night. She had learned that the hard way.

"You do, maybe you are the princess," Mary Margaret said, kissing her daughter's forehead, picking Lady up and heading out of the room.

"Good night Mommy."

Mary Margaret woke up a few hours after going to bed with Lady at the foot of her bed covered in sweat. She had been having a horrid dream that she was Snow White, but she was alone in the forest, being chased by the huntsman. She had woken up just before the huntsman had carved out her heart.

The different between that dream and normal dreams was that Mary Margaret could swear that she had actually been there, felt those feelings and been in that moment before. It was a serious case of déjà vu.

She would have to take it up with Archie or someone later.

The next day was Saturday, Mary Margaret's day off. Today she had promised to take Emma to the park with Lady for the afternoon so the little girl got up very early to get ready.

"Emma what are you doing? It's 5 o'clock in the morning," Mary Margaret groaned as Emma tried to climb up onto the bed.

"We gots to go to da park!" Emma squealed.

"Emma, we are going to the park after lunch, right now, it is too early to awake, look out the window. Even Mr. Sun is still sleeping," Mary Margaret told her little girl.

"But I's so essited!" Emma cried as Mary Margaret hoisted her up onto the bed.

"How about we go back to sleep for a few hours first okay? Then we can stay at the park longer because you won't be tired," Mary Margaret persuaded the little girl.

"Okay Mommy," Emma said, curling up against Mary Margaret and falling asleep again.

The next time Mary Margaret woke up, Emma was still asleep against her, clutching her blanket to her and sucking her thumb. Mary Margaret smiled at the adorable picture of the blonde in her baby pink footed pyjamas covered in ladybugs and flowers before sliding out of bed and heading over to the kitchen to start making breakfast.

Every Saturday, Mary Margaret had made a tradition on making pancakes for Emma, sometimes with chocolate chips, or blueberries or even strawberry bits. Today, Mary Margaret had put banana in them.

"Mommy!"

Emma's voice rang through the air as Mary Margaret flipped the last pancake off of the pan and onto the plate.

"In the kitchen baby girl!" Mary Margaret called out to her.

The pitter patter of Emma's feet flying across the floor was heard and soon enough Mary Margaret's knees were assaulted by a tiny, flying blonde.

"Morning Emma," she laughed, grabbing Emma and lifting her off the floor.

Putting her on the bar stool, Emma took one look at the two plates filled with banana pancakes, let out a cheer and then grabbed at one of the plates. Her mother handed her the plate before taking one for herself and sitting down beside Emma.

"Tan we go to da park now?" Emma asked as Mary Margaret buttoned the toddler's little tiny jeans.

"Can I get dressed first Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, gesturing to the pyjamas she currently wore.

"But you wook pwetty Mommy."

"Thank you Emma, but I think that it would be more appropriate for me to wear other clothes if we are going outside today," Mary Margaret laughed.

"Tay."

"How about you go get Lady on her leash while I go get dressed?" Mary Margaret suggested.

Emma was up and running down the stairs to grab the puppy's leash before Mary Margaret could blink. Laughing lightly to herself, Mary Margaret headed into her room to pick out something to wear for the day outside with an overexcited toddler and a puppy with almost endless energy.

As Mary Margaret walked down the street pushing Emma in her stroller and holding Lady by the end of the leash, she thought about the dream she had the night before. It was strange and she thought about visiting Archie about it if it continued.

Suddenly, Lady started yapping and pulling at her leash.

"What are you doing Lady?" Mary Margaret asked.

Looking up she found Archie and Pongo not ten feet away from them.

"Hello Mary Margaret," Archie greeted as the mother and daughter reached him. Lady flew at Pongo, jumping at him. Pongo stayed perfectly calm, nosing Lady on occasion.

"Archie, I was actually just thinking about going to talk to you," Mary Margaret answered.

"What about?"

"I had this weird dream last night about the book that Emma and I read."

"What happened in the dream?"

"Well, I was Snow White but it was just odd because it was all déjà vu," Mary Margaret answered.

"That is very odd, I will have to look into it. But for now, I have to finish Pongo's walk. I will see you around," Archie said, nodding before heading off past Mary Margaret and Emma.

On their way back home, Mary Margaret walked past the library with Emma asleep in the stroller and Lady in the toddler's blanket covered lap.

"Mary Margaret!" a voice yelled from behind her.

Spinning around to see David Nolan running towards her.

"David!" Mary Margaret smiled.

"How are you?"

"Good, good. You?" David asked, looking almost nervous.

"Good," Mary Margaret answered with a smile.

"So I was um…. Wondering… Would you like to go on a date with me?" David asked, rushing the words out.

"Pardon?"

"Would you like to go on a date with me?" David asked, slower this time.

"I would love to," Mary Margaret answered politely, jumping up and down inside.

"Great, Friday night?" David asked.

"Sounds perfect," Mary Margaret answered.

They smiled at each other, both containing their excitement and happiness before turning around to head their separate ways. Mary Margaret had the biggest smile on her face for the rest of the day. She had to tell Ruby.

When Mary Margaret got back to the loft, she put Emma and Lady in Emma's bed and rushed down the stairs to call Ruby about what had just gone on, already thinking about what she was going to wear on Friday.

**Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, so I had a review the other day, and I did not really like the what it said, and I am sure that you are now thinking, wow you are so sensitive, but really, the way it was worded was definitely not necessary.**

**So now, clearing up what it said, the way that I am writing Emma is yes, speaking a lot older than she is, but that is because, to me, the people from the Enchanted Forest, might develop faster than people in our world. So that is why Emma talks like that. Anyways, thank you for the review, but if you don't like my story, or you find the way that I write things 'distracting' and you don't want to 'invest in my story', that is fine with me. (Unless you are some big shot book reviewer, please try to be nice when you review, positive criticism is a lovely thing).**

**Now that I get that out of the way, I apologise to the people who had to read that, just don't appreciate when people decide to just put negative things into a review. Anyways, who is excited for the OUAT Winter Finale! #PanNeverFails! Well, what I say to that is, there is a first for everything! :)**

**For the people that are dying for Mary Margaret to get her memories back, it will come in due time, just be patient!**

**Anyways, Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time, wish I did, but I don't. :(**

**And now, on to chapter 10! Wow, double digits! **

Chapter 10

Friday came too fast for Mary Margaret. She had called Belle to babysit again and the librarian was happy to accept. This time there was a catch. A catch named Mr. Gold. Belle had not wanted to come over to the loft for that long by herself, so she had asked if Mr. Gold could come with her, so that when Emma went to bed, Belle would not be alone.

Mary Margaret was hesitant but she had agreed.

"Emma, what are you doing baby?" Mary Margaret called from the bathroom where she was getting out the shower.

"TB Mommy!" Emma called from the living room.

Mary Margaret smiled, grabbing her outfit that Ruby helped pick out. The dress was cute, covered in flowers and Mary Margaret had paired it with a pink cardigan and silvery ballet flats.

"Mickey Mommy!" Emma squealed toddling into the room with Lady on her little heels.

"Are you watching Mickey Mouse?" Mary Margaret asked throwing her dress on over her head, flatting it.

"Mickey! Mommy watch Mickey!" Emma squealed, reaching up to Mary Margaret.

"I have to get ready baby, but maybe later, or Belle with watch Mickey with you when she gets here," Mary Margaret said, lifting the little girl up and placing her onto the bathroom counter.

"Belle comin'?" Emma asked, looking up at Mary Margaret.

"Yeah, Mommy is going out with David, and Belle is going to come over with Mr. Gold to watch you," Mary Margaret told the little girl, applying a little bit of light eye makeup.

"Bedtime?" Emma asked.

"I don't know if I will be home for bedtime, but I am sure that Belle will read to you from your storybook, you just have to ask," Mary Margaret told her.

Emma stuck her thumb into her mouth and reached out for Mary Margaret again as she slipped on her silver ballet flats.

Grabbing the toddler around her arms, she hoisted her up onto her hip and carried Emma out into the living room again. When she reached the kitchen Mary Margaret heard the doorbell ring.

"I think Belle is here baby," Mary Margaret smiled.

Emma clung harder to Mary Margaret, wrapping her free arm around her neck and holding on tight. Mary Margaret ran her fingers through to blonde curls before heading over to get the door.

"No weave Mommy," Emma whined as Mary Margaret twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open.

On the other side of the door was Belle, with a huge smile on her face and Mr. Gold, dressed in one of his fancy suits and a slight scowl on his face.

"Hello," Mary Margaret smiled.

"Hello Mary Margaret, Emma," Belle smiled, nudging Mr. Gold slightly with her elbow.

"Can you say hello Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, looking at the suddenly shy toddler.

Emma waved with the hand that was stuck in her mouth. Belle laughed slightly and Mary Margaret tickled the little girl.

"Come in," Mary Margaret beckoned the pair of babysitters into the quaint loft.

Mr. Gold walked in behind Belle, who had been into the loft before, his cane clicking against the wooden floor.

Mary Margaret started explaining everything to Belle as Mr. Gold looked around. He hadn't been in the loft before, even though he did own the entire complex, he had never entered into it before.

"So, I should be home before Emma's bedtime, but in case I am not, her bedtime is at 7:30, she is already in her pyjamas, she needs to brush her teeth and she likes to be read to sleep, so just let her pick a story from the book that you gave her and read until she falls asleep, she already knows them off by heart. I think that is it," Mary Margaret finished her instructions to Belle before handing off the toddler to her and heading for the door.

"Mommy!" Emma cried, reaching for her mother from her perch in Belle's arms. Mr. Gold watched on from away from the scene.

"Emma, I have to go now, but I will be back later, and when I get home, I promise that I will come in and give you a kiss, okay?" Mary Margaret asked, not taking the little girl back, but grabbing her coat and pulling it over her shoulders.

"No weaving Mommy!" Emma screaming, tears rushing down her cheeks as Belle tried to wrangle her back onto her hip as the little girl reached for her mother.

"We are going to have lots of fun tonight Emma, I promise," Belle tried to soothe the child as Mary Margaret stepped out the door.

Emma cried for ten minutes after Mary Margaret left before calming down enough because Belle promised that she would make the toddler _Kraft Dinner_ for supper, Emma's favorite meal ever.

While Belle started on the little girl's dinner, she left Emma in the living room with Mr. Gold to keep her occupied.

"Dress up?" Emma asked, turning to look up at Mr. Gold's face from her spot beside him.

"No thank you," Mr. Gold answered, not looking down at the little girl.

"Pwease?" Emma asked, pulling the puppy dog eyes on the pawn shop owner.

"No thank you."

Emma huffed before sliding down off the couch and scampered off to her room, her blanket flying behind her and Lady at her heels.

Mr. Gold wondered where the child was going, but he wasn't curious enough to actually get up and follow her. Turning around, he found Emma rushing back into the room, her tiny toddler arms were filled with a bunch of pink stuff and glitter. Mr. Gold was looking at it with horror written all over his face.

"What are you doing with all of that stuff?" Mr. Gold asked.

"Dress up," Emma said.

"I said no," Mr. Gold told her.

Emma huffed again, dropping all of the stuff she brought into Mr. Gold's lap. Grabbing the tiara that she had placed on top of the pile, placing it on top of Mr. Gold's head, smiling happily at her work.

Mr. Gold tried to pull the plastic tiara off of his head, only to find it stuck in his hair. Belle had told him that he needed a haircut, but he hadn't listened, telling her that he liked it this way.

"What did you do to me?" Mr. Gold asked the smiling little blonde before him.

"You's a pweddy pwincess!" Emma squealed, jumping and clapping in front of him.

"Mr. Gold, what are you wearing on your head?" Belle asked, coming into the living room with a bowl filled with _Kraft Dinner_ for Emma.

"He a pwetty pwincess!" Emma squealed, rushing over to Belle.

"Well, although that is very nice, boys are not supposed to wear tiaras, boys wear crowns, girls wear tiaras. So maybe you should get the tiara off of Mr. Gold's head, and you could wear it instead?" Belle told the little girl, placing the bowl onto the coffee table and then picking up Lady, so that she could bring the puppy out to the kitchen to feed her too.

"Otay," Emma sighed, clearly unhappy about the new arrangement, but complied and took the tiara roughly off of Mr. Gold's head and placed it on top of the pile in his lap.

When Mary Margaret came home, David in tow, they found Mr. Gold standing by the sink, trying to get glitter out of his hair and Belle on the couch with Emma and Lady, the big, leather bound book in her lap.

"Hello Ms. Blanchard, Mr. Nolan," Mr. Gold said, glancing at the two, brushing glitter into Mary Margaret's sink.

"Hello Mr. Gold," Mary Margaret smiled nicely at him.

"Mommy!" Emma yelled, jumping off the couch and toddling as fast as her little chubby legs could take her.

"Hi Emma! Were you good for Belle and Mr. Gold?" Mary Margaret asked, scooping the little girl up off the floor as she barreled towards her mother. Lady scampered around Mary Margaret and David's feet, yapping and pouncing at David's laces.

"She was very good," Belle smiled, coming over to Mary Margaret.

"Yes, especially when she put a bottle of glitter in my hair and a tiara," Mr. Gold said unhappily.

"She is only a toddler Mr. Gold," David laughed.

"Well, I believe that she more of a menace with baby fat than a toddler," Mr. Gold said.

"He is just cranky because Emma likes me better," Belle laughed.

"Thank you very much for watching her," Mary Margaret said, as Mr. Gold and Belle headed out of the door.

"It was no problem," Belle smiled.

"What are we going to do now little munchkin?" David asked, tickling Emma as she tried to climb onto the couch.

"Cinderelly!" Emma squealed.

"Well okay then," Mary Margaret laughed, grabbing the movie off of the shelf.

**Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, I want to start by saying sorry for not updating this sooner, but we had a huge ice storm here and I didn't have power for two days, and then it was Christmas and I was hanging around with my family. So here is, a late, Christmas chapter for this story. **

**Please drop a review if you can, thanks a bunch. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time, I wish I did cause then we wouldn't have to wait until March 9th for another episode! **

**Anyways, here is chapter 11! **

Chapter 11

The months ticked by and suddenly it was the middle of December and Mary Margaret was pulling bins out from the spare bedroom that she kept all the decorations in. They were all labeled 'Christmas Decorations'.

"Are you excited for Christmas Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, hauling the last bin out and placing it on the floor with the rest of the plastic buckets.

Emma nodded, looking at all the decorations in the bin that she had managed to pull the cover off of.

Today her blonde curls were pulled up into a ponytail and she was still in her little Christmas pyjamas. They were red footy pyjamas with little Christmas trees and snowmen scattered across the fleece fabric. The zipper was pulled right up and her neck and the bottoms of the feet were covered in the little things that kept her from falling all over on the clean floors of Mary Margaret's loft.

"Mary Margaret open the door!" a voice called from the other side of the door suddenly.

"That's Ruby," Mary Margaret laughed, grabbing Emma up from the floor and swinging her up onto her hip as she headed over to answer the door.

"Why didn't you just let yourself in?" Mary Margaret smirked.

"I can't very well open the door if it is locked now can I?" Ruby asked, barging into the loft and dropping her purse and the cardboard tray of three hot chocolates to go into the table.

"Didn't I give you a key a few weeks ago?" Mary Margaret asked as Ruby stole Emma from her mother and tickled the toddler, making her giggle uncontrollably.

"You might have, and I might have lost it in my room a few days after," Ruby said nonchalantly as Emma struggled to get out of the waitress' hold.

"You lost a key to my apartment, in your room, which is attached to the diner and the bed and breakfast?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Yeah, I think. That or it is in my purse somewhere," Ruby answered, giving Emma a raspberry on her stomach before finally letting the toddler free again to roam around and go back to observing the decoration boxes.

"Well, that is comforting," Mary Margaret laughed.

"So, is David coming over too?" Ruby asked, teasing her friend as the two followed Emma into the living room where Lady was sitting on the couch, chewing happily on her toy duck.

"What are you implying?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Well, you two have gone on a few dates now and since you are planning a party for next week, maybe you could invite him and things could happen," Ruby trailed off.

"I can tell you that he is invited to the party, I don't know if he is going to be coming over today or not, I left him a message on his phone, I don't know if he got it or not," Mary Margaret answered, pulling things out of the bins and placing them on the ground of giving it to Ruby who placed it on the couch beside Lady.

"I hope that he shows up, 'cause I can take Emma and you guys can hang out here, maybe get some romance on," Ruby teased, pulling out a roll of garland that Mary Margaret planned to wrap around the railing on the staircase leading upstairs to Emma's room.

"If David is coming over, he is merely here to help me decorate for Christmas, like you are supposed to be doing," Mary Margaret answered, handing a stuffed snowman to Emma, who giggled and hugged the plush toy close.

"Who is that Emma?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Fwosdy," Emma said, handing him back to Mary Margaret as Lady tried to get the snowman from the little girl.

"Yeah, where do you want to put him?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma jumped off the couch, grabbing the snowman from her mother and rushing out into the kitchen. When Mary Margaret finally decided to follow her, she found that Emma was sitting in the middle of the table, the snowman sitting in the middle of an empty bowl that Mary Margaret usually filled with fruit. Now the fruit was scattered across the white table top and Emma was trying to make sure that the snowman stayed upright in the bowl.

"Emma what are you doing baby?" Mary Margaret asked, rushing over to grab the toddler from the table.

"I is decowatin' fow Cwrismas Mommy," Emma answered, settling into the arms of her mother.

"Well, next time maybe you should stay off the kitchen table, because the table is for food, not little girls," Mary Margaret told her.

Emma nodded, sticking her thumb into her mouth and hugging Mary Margaret.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Mary Margaret rushed to open it, hoping that it was David.

Not willing to disappoint, David was standing on the other side of the wooden door when Mary Margaret yanked the door open.

"David!" Mary Margaret exclaimed, happy to see what Ruby would call her 'boyfriend'.

Mary Margaret thought that calling David her boyfriend was very high school like, so she tried to avoid calling him that, instead, when talking to Emma about him, she would simply call him David.

"Hey Mary Margaret," David smiled, thrusting a covered plate into her free hand.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Christmas cookies, I thought you an Emma would like to have some of them," David said, sounding almost embarrassed.

"Thank you," Mary Margaret smiled, holding back the urge to kiss him. She figured that it was not something that she should do with Emma sitting beside her.

"So little munchkin, are you excited for Santa to come?" David asked Emma, who was hugging Mary Margaret's leg.

Emma nodded, a smile playing at her lips.

"How many days Emma?" Ruby asked from the other room where she was pulling garland from one of the bins.

"Mommy said two weets, bud dat is a lon dime 'way," Emma answered.

"That is fourteen days Em," Mary Margaret said.

"And now there is like ten days," David informed the toddler.

"Does Wady det pwesents too?" Emma asked, pointing at the quickly growing puppy.

"She sure will, if she was good," David answered, hauling the puppy off the ground where she was attacking the laces on his boots.

After a few minutes of Mary Margaret and David standing in the kitchen talking, Ruby and Emma were getting antsy to start decorating for the holiday.

"Are you two lovebirds coming or are we going to have to do all of the decorating ourselves?" Ruby yelled.

"We should go before those two make a huge mess," Mary Margaret laughed, grabbing David's hand and pulling him out into the living room.

**Please review!**


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